If You Give A Princess A Potion
by EclaireAndPocky
Summary: Set years after the show, Sofia creates a special potion and takes it to Cedric. Though things don't go as planned, this adventure is one both want to remember.


If You Give a Princess a Potion

(I don't own Sofia the First or Rainbow Factory, a fanfiction I reference.)

Sofia rushed through the halls of the castle, practically tripping over herself in the process. Her ever present smile was sent to every guard and servant that crossed her path. Every once in a while, she had to stop running to straighten her tiara.

In some ways, the youngest princess of Enchancia hadn't changed at all. But little by little, she had gradually grown from child to adult. Of course, no one pointed it out often that she had grown up. Even she herself didn't realize for a while. Her innocence, wonder, and kind-heartedness still remained.

As the years went by, everyone around her changed, too. She rarely saw her friends after she graduated from Royal Prep, and Minimus had long since retired. Her other animal friends didn't have enough energy to keep up with her anymore, and stayed in her room to rest. Amber had married, and had gone off to be the queen of another land. James was on a traveling derby team and rarely came home. Her parents were the only two relatives that stayed in the castle. So, Sofia began to slowly spend more time with Cedric.

He hadn't changed at all. Ten years didn't cause much damage, being a sorcerer and all. Sofia liked the ordinariness of going to see him. It was a friendship that she knew wouldn't change. And as the years passed, the only change that was shared between them was how much closer they had become as friends. The subtle things that kept an apprentice and teacher relationship were soon dropped. "Mister" and "Princess" formalities slowly disappeared. More time was spent talking than actual sorcery class. Most of the time, Sofia didn't even have a reason to go see the man, but she just wanted too.

But, today, when this story takes place, she had a reason indeed.

Sofia's steps echoed loudly through the halls as she made her way to her favorite tower. In her hands was a small vial that she held close to her heart. After a few bumps into other servants, she finally made it to the top of the staircase that led to Cedric's tower. The door opened for her before she could even knock and she rushed in.

"Good afternoon, So-"

"Cedric! Look, look! I made this by myself! I didn't use a spellbook or anything! Isn't it cool?" Sofia said hurridly as she ran to the back of the room and pushed some books off of a table to make room for herself. "Oh, and good afternoon to you, too," she said in a hurry.

Cedric rolled his eyes but walked to where she sat and inspected the vial. "What did you put in this potion no one has ever made before?" He asked.

Sofia shoved a piece of paper in his face. "Here you go!" She said happily.

He scanned the paper and raised an eyebrow. "Heart's desire? Rose extract? Perfume? No wonder you were able to make this first. No one else would try something this girly in years!" He said teasingly.

Sofia gave him a playful shove. "Hey, you're just jealous that I made my own potion!"

"Well what does it do, Ms. Know-It-All?" He asked with a smile.

"Well... The plan was to have it be some kind of love potion... I think?" She said as her nose scrunched up in concentration.

Cedric made a noise that was a mixture of gag and a snort. "You think you made a love potion?" He said incredulously.

"What?" Sofia said with a pout. "I've never seen one before, and I thought it would be nice to see if it works!"

"Well, that would be fantastic, but it's never been done before. I'm fairly certain it's impossible. And why would you bring that here?" He asked.

"Well, duh! Because I wanted to test it out!" Sofia said excitedly.

"What?"

"I want to test it!" Sofia repeated.

"On me?!" Cedric exclaimed.

"Uh... no, silly! Wormwood, obviously!" Sofia waved her hand. "Seriously. Why would I do that?" She asked. Her face instantly lit up again as she looked up. "So can I test it?" She asked eagerly.

He waved his hand in a dismissal. "Sure, I don't mind. This will be fun to watch," he said, relieved he was not the test subject anymore.

Wormwood started desperately trying to escape from his cage. "Sofia, I demand that you do not test that insane potion on me!" He yelled.

Sofia giggled. She jumped off of the table and rushed over to the squawking bird. As she reached up towards the cage, Wormwood beat his wings furiously.

"Hold still, this won't hurt you!" Sofia pleaded. The cage continued to swing back and forth. She tried to catch the cage but it evaded her grasp.

Cedric started to laugh at her attempts. Sofia turned around and frowned. "I can do this, Cedric. Just you watch."

With that, she turned around and lifted the vial again as the cage swung back toward her. The cage hit her hand, and the vial smashed against the bars, opening the cage in the process. All of the contents inside landed on the poor girl and she fell over in surprise. Wormwood took the opportunity to fly upstairs and out of harm's way.

"Sofia!" Cedric said in concern. He rushed over to where she had fallen. He picked her up and took her out of the shards of glass and to another section of the room. "Are you alright?"

Sofia rubbed her eyes. "I think so... I'm just sad that my potion went to waste on me," she said sadly as she looked up at him.

Cedric shrugged. "You can always make it again, ri-" He was cut off by Sofia suddenly throwing her arms around him. This sent both of them reeling backwards.

Sofia sat up and started peppering Cedric's face with kisses. "Hey- what are you- stop!" He protested as he tried to squirm away. His face turned bright red at her display of affection. He finally put a hand on the girl's face and pushed her away. "Do you MIND?" He asked Sofia.

Sofia pulled his hand down. "I'm sorry," she said. She examined her hands. "I don't know what came over me. I just felt like doing that."

"What? So it's... real? How is that possible?" He asked in surprise. "That's great, Sofia! You really did it! This means that-" He stopped praising her for a second. "This means that you're in love with me?" He asked in fear, putting his hands on his face this time. "Why did I let you test that stupid potion? If only I had let you test it on me. I was just worried about the side effects, because I knew love potions weren't real, but now YOU'RE messed up!"

Sofia put her arms around him. "Everything will be okay," she said with a smile. "I'm fine!"

"Fine? Fine?! You are NOT fine, because you are under the influence of that love potion! You shouldn't be in love with me," Cedric responded as he pried the girl's arms from around him. "And how do you expect me to explain this to your parents? 'Oh, hey, Queen and King, sorry to tell you this, but your daughter is madly in love with me because of my idiocy!" The color drained from his face. "What if they banish me? What if they throw me in prison?" He inhaled sharply. "What if they kill me? That would be the only way you'd never be able to see me again!"

Sofia took one of his hands into hers. "You're overreacting. I won't let any of those things happen to you! Besides, it wasn't your fault! And I AM alright."

Cedric pulled his hand away. "No, you are not. This isn't how you normally act. You aren't yourself." He got up and started pacing. "What am I going to do?"

Sofia stood up as well. "Potions have cures, right? Why can't you just find a way to undo it?" She asked as she started following his footsteps.

"A way to undo it... A cure..." He stopped abruptly and Sofia ran into him. "Sofia, you're a genius! But what spell would change a potion that hasn't been made before?" He asked to himself as he started to go flip through some spell books.

The princess was frozen for a moment as she recognized the seriousness of the situation. Cedric's worries finally resonated in her head. What had she done? Could those awful things really happen to her mentor? Did she really sentence him to his own death? Her eyes started to brim with tears at the thought. Why was she so careless? She could have prevented this. But her parents were rational people! They would have sympathy, and Sofia was sure that they wouldn't kill anyone, especially when she told them that everything was her fault. She calmed down a little. A tear still escaped her eye and she wiped it with the back of her hand.

"I- I'm so sorry about this," she said quietly. "I never meant to put your life at stake, and I just wanted you to be proud of me." Her breath caught as more tears fell.

Cedric looked over the mountain of books he had made at the crying princess. He made his way over to her with a sigh.

"Sofia, it's alright, don't cry please," he pleaded as he walked over. "I overreacted. I'll be fine. And of course I'm proud of you! You're probably a better sorcerer than I am," he said with a small laugh. "And I should really be the one who's more sorry. I should've paid closer attention to you. And I'm sorry that you had to fall in love with me, of all people."

With Sofia's doubts almost immediately reassured, she was able to put on her bright smile again and hugged him. "Are you kidding? What's not to love about you? You are sensational, after all," she said as she looked up at him.

"Oh, please, that's just the potion talking," Cedric said. He cleared his throat, but the faint pink tint in his face remained. "So, why don't we go to the, uh, library? To find better books on how to fix you? You have also seemed to acquire a bipolar mindset."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Sofia said as she pulled away. "That sounds like a good idea. Buuuuuut... What if someone notices us? Won't they wonder what's going on if I act out?" She said as a look of concern passed over her. She started to pace as she put her hands to her head. "Everyone will know what's wrong! Everything will go wrong!"

Cedric sighed. "We really need to get you potion vaccinations," he mumbled as he grabbed Sofia by her shoulders to stop her. "Luckily, I know where the proper spell is. We'll use an invisibility spell. It will be fine."

"Ooh! That sounds like fun!" Sofia squealed as her expression changed again and she started to bounce up and down.

This got another eye roll from the sorcerer.

"I know you are under a potion curse, but could you please calm down? Your emotions are all over the place."

"Sorry," Sofia said as she folded her hands in front of her and blushed in embarrassment.

Cedric went back to looking through his spell books. When he found the invisibility spell, he turned to Sofia.

"Alright. Get ready," he commanded as sparks flew around the princess. "Disappearo." In a moment, Sofia was completely see-through.

"WOW!" Sofia shrieked.

"Please be quiet! Don't attract more attention than you must!" Cedric said, exasperated.

"Sorry, but this is just SO COOL!" Sofia exclaimed in an excited whisper.

"You can look at what you can do, or rather, _not_ see what you can do, at a later date. We need to get down to the library now! Soon people will start to worry where you are!"

Sofia put down the objects she was holding and stopped whisper-screaming about their floating appearance.

"Thank you. Now follow me." Cedric opened the door to the tower and Sofia closed it behind him. Then he spun around.

"Now, wherever you are-" -Sofia put her hand on his shoulder here- "Thanks. You need to be quiet, alright? No talking, no acting strange, just help me look for spell books on curing humans from spells."

Sofia nodded and then corrected herself. "Okay. I'll try my best. But it's hard... It feels like I can't control what I do most times now."

"That's what you made the potion for, right?" Cedric said dryly as they started to walk down the stairs.

"Yes, but at least it works!" She said as she giggled.

"Yes, you can start a line of potions and spells titled, "Spells To Never Use"!" He said with a hint of a smile.

"Maybe I could tweak the story of how EXACTLY I got cursed..." Sofia said in a singsong voice.

Cedric blanched for a second before remembering that Sofia was too kindhearted to do such an... evil thing.

He sent a slight frown at the general area the invisible girl was walking, but didn't stay frustrated for long. He had come to his senses and realized that nothing horrible would happen to him, but he was more willing to avoid her parents' hatred at all costs.

Sofia and Cedric arrived at the library and opened the door. Luckily, the guards for the hall and most of the library were eating dinner. The duo quietly walked through the aisles to the sorcery section. "Alright. You go through the A's through M's, and I'll look through the rest. Look for anything that will help us," Cedric muttered quietly under his breath.

"Got it."

They walked to their designated letter sections and started searching.

Cedric started to think about the events of the past few minutes. Why hadn't he stressed carefulness in that moment? Why did the potion work? Why did this happen to Sofia and him?

"Because you're a cartoon character," Sofia said, interrupting his thoughts.

"What?"

Sofia pulled out another book and it hovered in the air.

"Ooh! Becoming your own author," she continued. "Next book coming soon: The Fourth Wall and How to Break it," she said happily.

Cedric rolled his eyes again and stared at the floating books. "Could you please focus? I need your help, you know!" He angrily whispered. Once the books were shelved, he continued to scan the titles. One book looked right.

"Here! 'People and Potions: How to Fix What Went Wrong'," he said, relieved.

"Good job, Cedric!" Sofia said happily.

"Sofia?" A new voice cut into the conversation.

Cedric and Sofia froze.

Baileywick started walking toward Cedric. "Have you seen Sofia? She's been called for dinner, and I don't want her to be late," he asked him.

"No," Cedric replied flatly. Seeing the castle steward always worsened his mood, but he would rather see him every day if it meant he wouldn't talk to him today.

"Then why did I hear Sofia's voice?" Baileywick asked with a disbelieving stare.

"Did you do something to her?"

"Of course not, you fool! Don't you know that she's my favorite person in the whole castle?"

Suddenly Cedric was sent backwards and almost fell over by the invisible Sofia giving him a hug. He tried to cough to make it look like he was not moving spastically for no reason, but to no avail.

Baileywick looked disgusted and confused as he watched Cedric flail around the library. "Well, if you act like that, people will _try_ to avoid you," he retorted.

Sofia pried herself away from the man and tried to think of a way to distract Baileywick. After a few moments of being frozen, she began to run away from the pair to get his attention away from the sorcerer. Cedric composed himself and straightened his clothes. He cast Baileywick a glare. "If I wouldn't lose my job for using certain spells on people," he threatened.

"Oh, I'm so scared," Baileywick said sarcastically. "You probably couldn't turn me into a newt, much less any spells you SHOULD know."

"Was that a challenge?" Cedric asked, his fists clenched.

"Baileywick!" Sofia shouted from the other end of the library.

Baileywick spun around, trying to spot the princess. "Sofia! Thank goodness! Come, I'll escort you to dinner!"

"No, thanks!" Was her response. "I'm not hungry. I'm going to go sleep, so don't send any servants."

"Are you sure, your Highness?" Baileywick asked as he ran out of the room trying to find her.

"Yep!"

"Alright then, princess. Sleep well, wherever you are," he said with a confused look on his face as he walked toward the rest of the family's dinner.

Sofia walked back into the library and tapped Cedric on the shoulder. He jumped.

"Could you give me a warning before you do that?" He said frustratedly.

"Sorry."

"We can go now, though. I found what I was looking for, and we can't risk another run-in with anyone," he said. "We'll head to the gardens. I'll probably need to get some materials for whatever cure is in this book."

As they started walking, Cedric calmed down. "You really saved me- or rather, Baileywick- back there. Even though you got us into that mess."

Sofia giggled. "Thanks. I'm sure Baileywick would be writhing in pain if it wasn't for me," she said.

After a short walk, they arrived in the royal gardens. Cedric changed Sofia back to normal and started to flip through the book as Sofia looked up. Her eyes widened.

"Um, those clouds look really bad," she said as she tugged on the sorcerer's arm.

Cedric waved her away. "Shh, wait a minute. I have to find one of these ingredients."

Sofia glanced back up at the sky as rain started to fall. "Cedriiiiiic, we need to go back iiiin," she said as her face took on a frightened look.

The sky was full of menacing black clouds, blocking out most of the moonlight and stars from view.

"It's just a little rainstorm. And we only have to get one thing! Nightshade!" He said happily.

A giant flash of lightning illuminated the sky, and a clap of thunder followed that shook the ground. Sofia started to tremble as she followed after Cedric.

A few turns later brought them to a purple thorn bush, clearly a nightshade plant. "Here! See, safe and sound," Cedric said as he picked some.

Lightning split the sky and Sofia screamed. Cedric gave a sideways glance to her. "You're afraid of thunderstorms?"

Sofia shook her head. "I mean, a little, but not usually," she said in embarrassment. But another rumble of thunder later, she ran into Cedric's arms. "But I'm scared now!" She exclaimed.

Cedric sighed as he awkwardly patted her back. "Well, I have what we need, so we can go in now."

Sofia beamed up at him. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said happily.

Cedric stood bewildered for a moment before once again pulling Sofia's arms from him. "Well then, let's go in before your emotions flip-flop again."

The two hurried into the castle. Once they had made their way into the tower, Cedric placed the book and leaves onto the table. Sofia stood shivering as she watched Cedric gather the rest of the ingredients.

Cedric turned to look back at her. "Why didn't you say something, Sofia?" He said as he tossed her a blanket.

"Thanks!" Sofia said brightly. "I guess I was too embarrassed to."

Cedric rolled his eyes for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day. He flipped through the book from the library and once at the right page, began to follow the instructions. As he started on the potion, he turned to Sofia again. "So... About the potion... It will cure you, but your memories from today will be erased," he said.

"Really?" Sofia asked. "But... Are you sure there isn't another one?"

Cedric's face got even more downcast. "No," he said after a moment. "The whole book is full of cures related to your problem. But this is for the best-"

"No!" Sofia said forcefully. Cedric started at her boldness. "You don't know what's best for me, because you aren't me, and you don't know how I feel! I still think I don't have anything wrong with me. I think I've loved you for a long time now, and it feels right to me somehow."

Cedric was caught off guard by her hasty response and harsh tone."You don't understand that this is not you! You haven't been acting like yourself this whole time. You only feel fine because that's what the potion wants you to feel! That's what I've been trying to tell you! You aren't supposed to be with me! There's a whole list of reasons why. And once you're healed, you won't even remember that you were sad."

Sofia shook her head forcefully. "You keep treating this like it's a problem, but it isn't! I'd be perfectly happy to stay like this!" Sofia quieted down for a moment. "I don't want to be "healed". If I'm only under the influence of the potion, I want to be until I die."

Cedric's face flushed partly in anger and partly in surprise. "Fine! I'll just prove it to you. One: I'm almost ten years your senior."

"We're both sentient adults. I can decide for myself who I want, and age differences are common."

"Two: Your family hates me."

"That can be fixed."

"Three: I'm not royalty."

"That's never been a problem before!"

"Four: No sorcerer has ever been with a princess."

"We could be the first."

"No, Sofia! Just stop! It CAN'T. HAPPEN."

Sofia's eyes started to water. "But all of those are fixable things! Are they excuses because you don't love me?"

"No! Of course I love you! You're the only person I've ever loved!" His heart skipped. He had never said it out loud before. He remembered that she was going to forget that he said that, but he never thought he'd have the courage to voice it. He stepped back. "I... I'm sorry, I was out of line. I didn't think I would-"

Sofia's eyes lit up and she interrupted Cedric. "You do? Really?" A huge smile appeared on her face, then disappeared again. "Then why are you trying to push me away?"

"I'm not good enough for you."

Sofia looked confused. "What? Why? Is this because you don't think you're a good person? I know that-"

"I have turned into a person not worthy of even your friendship, Sofia. You know how long I wanted to take over the kingdom. And still you _forgave_ me. We have always been on opposite sides of the spectrum. I can't put you through this."

"But you're giving me up even though you love me just for my own benefit. That shows how much you have changed. You're not who you used to be, Cedric!"

Cedric looked away at the confirmation of what he was losing. "You deserve someone better."

"But I don't WANT someone better. You're who I'm in love with, and no one else."

Cedric smiled bitterly as he sharply looked back at her. "But that's the potion talking. Who knows what the regular you would say?"

Sofia thought about that for a moment. She thought she knew what she really wanted, but he had a point she couldn't refute. She really didn't know herself anymore.

After a minute Sofia sighed in defeat. "I guess you are right. But, you're only doing this to make me happy, right?" She asked as she looked back up at him.

"Yes, but you should be happy without a potion controlling you-"

"No, no, calm down," she said. "I will take the potion, because if I really am in love with you, I will be able to tell for myself. And otherwise, you won't want me anyway. I can see that now. But will you help me be happy in this moment?" She asked quietly.

Cedric nodded.

"Anything for you, Sofia."

"Will you kiss me?"

Cedric's face was a display of the fiercest emotions. Joy that words he had only heard in dreams were being said to him, fury that he couldn't change who he was, and despair that not only would he never have this chance again, but that the fact Sofia wanted to kiss him in the first place was because she was unable to think clearly. Still, he walked over to her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He met her eyes and took a shaky breath. "You're lucky I'm still a selfish man," he said softly as he leaned in.

Sofia met him halfway and pulled him closer to her. For a few moments, everything in Sofia's world was gone except for Cedric. But both knew it had to end before they were too selfish to stop the plan.

Sofia pulled away and slowly let her hands fall. "I'm glad you get the honor of being the other half of my first kiss," she said softly as her eyes filled with tears again. She looked back at Cedric. "I promise, I'll try my hardest to remember and come back to you."

"Alright. Remember for the both of us," Cedric replied as he checked the status of the reverse potion. "It... it's ready."

Sofia took a deep breath and straightened her posture. "Okay."

Cedric poured a small dose into a beaker and handed it to Sofia.

Sofia looked at the green hue of the drink and made a face. "Ewww, I have to drink _that?_ I feel like this will be more detramental to me than the previous potion, " she muttered as she pretended to gag.

"I _won't_ miss your mood changing every five seconds," Cedric teased Sofia.

Sofia for once rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah." After Sofia drank the potion, her face became downcast again. She reached out and hugged Cedric again. "Don't let this be the last time I hold you, okay?" She muffled into his chest.

Cedric laughed gently. "Sofia, you're going to hug me whether you're in love with me or not," he said.

Suddenly, Sofia opened her eyes again. "Cedric? Why are you hugging me?" She asked as a faint blush spread across her face.

"Oh! Uh... You wanted to?" He said as he backed up.

"Oh. Well, that would explain my weird dream, then," she said as she nodded her head.

"Weird dream?"

"Yeah! It was about me and you!"

"What happened?" He asked hurriedly. Maybe she had remembered after all!

"Well, you and I were running away from an evil blue monster in some factory or something," she said as she moved her hands to show what she was talking about.

Cedric's heart fell. "Oh. Well, you might want to get to your own room before people start to worry about you," he said as he ushered her out of the room.

"Okay. Thanks for helping me!" Sofia said as she walked out.

Cedric held his hand up in a wave. As the tower door closed, his false happy expression faded and he was left alone with his memories. He lifted his fingers to his lips once before scolding himself. If he was to get over Sofia, he should start to forget, too. He walked over to his desk to rearrange books and started to put them back on the shelves to take his mind off of everything.

Suddenly a title caught his eye.

"Spells To Never Use," he said with a harsh laugh of disbelief. "What are the odds?"

He flipped through it. Most of them had ingredients he had never heard of or owned. Most of the spells were also either black magic or death spells. But, one page had a strange ingredient in it.

Heart's desire.

He quickly scanned through the rest of the ingredients. Rose extract. Any kind of perfume.

He looked at the top of the page for the name of the potion. "Feeling Revealer?" He asked thoughtfully. He looked down to the description.

"A dangerous potion that makes anyone's feelings shown to the extreme. For example, if one is sad, tears will always be present. Do not confuse with a love potion!"

Cedric stared in astonishment. His mind tried to wrap around the new prospect. Then all of Sofia's feelings weren't created by a potion? Did that mean they were... Genuine? So she really loved him?

His eyes grew wide and he stumbled away from the book. "There... There's no... There's no way... Is there?" He asked to himself. He looked toward the door of the tower and back toward the book. He shook his head as he started walking toward the door. "I must be insane," he muttered.

As he made it down into the dark, winding halls of the castle, he quickened his pace. The hope that Sofia actually loved him kept him going. He wasn't going to give up if it could be true.

After what seemed like forever, he stopped in front of her room. He gulped, gathering his courage, and knocked on the door.

"Jus' a minute," came her tired voice from behind the door. She opened it, rubbing her eyes. "Mom, do I really have to get up? I barely got any-" She took her hands off her eyes to see the sorcerer standing there instead. Her face had a confused look on it. "Cedric? What're you doing here?" She asked slowly, as if she was figuring out a puzzle.

He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. He hadn't really planned what he was going to say, and her incessant innocent stare had him on edge.

"I... Um... Well... I... I...," he mumbled, his face turning a dark shade of red.

His courage was quickly waning, but a look into the princess's eyes helped him to blurt out what was on his mind. "Would you like to join me for tea sometime? In the garden? I mean, I don't really care where, just as long as you're happy-"

"Of course! We have tea all the time!" Sofia giggled. "Why do you look so flustered?"

Cedric glanced away. "No, I mean, as a... date..."

Sofia's confused look melted into her brightest smile. "Really?" She asked as if she couldn't believe what he had told her.

"Uh... Yes," he replied, feeling better that at least she was smiling.

Sofia's hands got jittery and her face turned a shade of pink. "I'd love to!" She said joyfully. "But... Why are you asking me this now?" She asked in confusion.

"Oh, do I have a story to tell you," Cedric said with a smile. "I'll leave it for another day though, so you can get some rest."

Sofia gasped in surprise as Cedric took her hand and gently kissed it. Her face was getting more red by the second.

"Goodnight, Sofia! I'll tell you everything tomorrow!" Cedric called over his shoulder as he walked down the corridor with a spring in his step.

Sofia stood blinking in the shock of the sorcerer's strange mood. Her surprised look turned into one of sheer happiness, however. She kept replaying Cedric's words and his romantic gestures in her head. As she got back into her bed, another thought entered her head.

 _And tomorrow, I can show Cedric that potion I've been working on!_ She stopped her train of thought. _Oh wait, I don't need it anymore. I only wanted to show it to him in the hope he would try it and fall in love with me! I guess I have a story to tell him, too._


End file.
